Jia Minqi's family in the Red Chamber

Xue Huan's journey from Yamen to home was enough for him to suppress his excess emotions, at least he was barely calm when he got home.

As soon as he entered the door, Aunt Xue who got the news greeted him.

Seeing that the master was showing signs of exhaustion, Aunt Xue immediately got up: order the maids to fetch clothes, carry basins to fetch water, and boil water to make tea... After a bunch of trivial matters were arranged, she asked her master, "What's going on in the yamen today?" too much?"

In fact, it means to ask the master if you are busy today and if you are tired.

However, Xue Huan is in his 30s, and it is the first time for three generations of grandparents and grandchildren to be a serious official this time, so naturally he dare not take it too seriously.He paid a lot of money to hire two experienced and well-known masters to advise him and deal with general affairs.

As a result, Aunt Xue would know almost nothing about Xue Huan's official affairs if he hadn't brought it up on his own initiative.Therefore, every night when the master came back, she always greeted him personally, and the couple had to say a few words at least—she had been guilty for a long time because she failed to get things done.

This time the master returned to Beijing to run an official position, his elder brother Wang Ziteng only offered words of encouragement, but he still didn't lend a hand to help... Thinking about the tens of thousands of taels of silver he sent a few years ago, Aunt Xue also inevitably regretted it: Thinking about it Go, let's focus on listening to the master's words.

Unexpectedly, the master who was not in a bad mood when he left the house at this time... no matter how you look at it, he seems to have something on his mind!

Aunt Xue became more careful, "What happened to the master?"

Xue Huan sighed, "Baochai's name has been reported."

Aunt Xue was shocked, "What's going on?"

The general election is in the same year as Chunwei, and Baochai will be no more than fourteen next year.

Although the general election is said to be at least 13 years old, the girls who are waiting for election these years have already reached the age-Baochai is young and has little experience, so he always has to suffer a bit!

Therefore, the couple had already discussed that it would not be too late for Baochai to wait until she was seventeen in four years before going to Beijing.He never expected that Xue Huan would have a "surprise surprise" for him just as soon as he took up his new post.

Seeing that his wife's reaction did not seem to be fake, Xue Huan asked again, "Did you really not report our Baochai's name?"

The Wang family is eager for quick success and quick profit, and they like to make their own decisions. Looking at their uncle Wang Ziteng and their sister-in-law Mrs. Wang, they know that what he said is true.

When Aunt Xue heard the words, she felt full of grievances and grievances rushed to her heart, she choked up and couldn't speak for a moment... At least remembering that there were girls watching, she reluctantly said in a low voice, "What is the master talking about! Since the master... ..." Originally, she didn't intend to argue, but she rushed her head in depression, and she couldn't help but said, "Master doesn't believe me anymore?"

It's not that I don't believe in you, it's that I don't believe in your natal family.

Your ears are too soft, you have been persuaded by your mother's family twice or three times, you are not afraid of spending some money, just throw it into the puddle, I am afraid that you will unintentionally make others happy and hurt our girl.

Xue Huan was actually more dissatisfied and depressed than his wife, but after all, he didn't say these words, but took his wife's hand and sighed, "What are you doing?"

Aunt Xue suddenly came back to her senses, and quickly argued, "Master, I didn't! Baochai was also born in October of my pregnancy."

The words of the master and wife became more and more wrong, the eldest girl in front of Aunt Xue gave the other girl a wink, turned and went out by herself, and went to ask the eldest girl for advice.

But she said that Baochai was doing needlework in the room at this time. When she heard that her father came back, she waited specially so that her parents could talk about herself, and then she went to pay her respects. I found it first.

Because of his uncle and aunt, his father almost had a relationship with his mother, and all these precious hairpins saw it.Getting along with Daiyu Miaoyu and other sisters, and being taught by his father, Baochai naturally prefers his father: so what about merchants?The benefits are always rewarded.Uncle is actually... a little bully.

There is no girl in my uncle's family, so "those ideas" can only fall on me, or the Jia cousins.She is willing to obey her father's arrangement, but she does not want to be a "gift" that her uncle brings to get close to noble people.

So after hearing what her mother and the eldest girl said, she was not in a hurry, and it would not be too late to "entertain relatives in colorful clothes" after her parents finished speaking.

And no matter how impatient Aunt Xue's eldest girl is, she can't be the boss of her own eldest girl... Who in the family doesn't know that the eldest girl is going to enter the palace to be a noble person, and there is no time to please her at this time, so how dare she offend her?

The eldest girl kept silent, just waiting for the eldest girl to order.

This girl is very interesting, and Baochai also gave her a high-level look.After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Baochai finally got up, supported the girl, and walked slowly towards her parents' yard.

At this time, the sun was not even setting, Baochai went to ask An and passed by Xue Pan's yard, but was stopped by his brother who had a whim.

Whether Xue Pan has improved in knowledge over the past year is another matter, at least he has lost a lot of weight, and he seems to be more energetic.

It's a pity that when he opened his mouth, his true form appeared.

Xue Pan smiled and said, "Sister, are you happy that your wish has come true?"

Baochai was taken aback, "What wish came true?"

Xue Pan has always been impatient to show off, "You will enter the palace next year. Father has been busy for so long, isn't it just paving the way for you?"

Baochai was shocked, "Why pave the way for me?" Especially the previous sentence, enter the palace next year?Her father had chatted with her more than once, and he even agreed to wait until her seventeenth year to participate in the general election.

Baochai didn't believe that her father would suddenly change her mind, and when she thought of her mother's report to the big girl, her parents shouldn't be blushing because of this matter... She didn't care about guessing what her brother did, but ran to her parents' yard with all her heart .

No matter how calm Baochai is usually, she is still just a little girl under fourteen.

Seeing his sister leave in a hurry without even saying hello, Xue Pan finally realized something was wrong.

He rushed to the main room where his parents lived, and when he entered the door, he saw his father drooping his head in silence, while his mother was wiping tears secretly... Baochai regained her composure, first forced a smile, and said hello to her parents.

Xue Huan pointed to his side, "Come and sit." Then he said out of the window, "Since you're here, why are you running?"

After a while, Xue Pan walked in the door with a look of fear on his face.

The son almost wrote the word "guilt" on his face, Xue Huan patted his daughter's hand, looked at his son and said, "What did you do?"

Xue Pan's Adam's apple sank suddenly, and he whispered, "Son, I don't know what's wrong."

He said "what's wrong"... Without saying a word, Xue Huan picked up the vase on the shelf and threw it at his son's forehead.

Xue Pan didn't let the veteran practice for nothing~ Fuck~ for almost a year, seeing something bad, he tilted his body, the vase flew out against his shoulder, and landed on the ground with a crisp sound.

It was this sound that "woke up" Aunt Xue and Baochai.

Aunt Xue grabbed her son and said angrily: "You careless person, what have you done?" After saying that, she beat her chest again, "What crime have I committed!"

Knowing the son is more like the mother, seeing her son's appearance, Aunt Xue is sure that the son has definitely made a big mistake, and the daughter's accidental candidate for election may be the son's "unintentional act".

Baochai held her father tightly, with tears in her eyes, "Father, calm down." Then she turned her head to look at her mother with red and swollen eyes, "Mother!" She choked up with sobs.

Xue Huan shook his head, took a deep breath, "Come here, clean up, and make a pot of herbal tea."

Now that it's winter moon, the master wants to drink herbal tea... the maids heard it and had to do it.

After the house was tidied up, Xue Pan poured half a pot of herbal tea under his father's gaze, then knelt on the ground and whispered, "My son gave my sister's horoscope to the steward sent by my uncle." Taking a peek, he found Father's eyes became colder, and he hurriedly said, "Mom told me to listen to uncle!"

The child cheated his mother with a casual sentence.

Xue Huan didn't pay attention to it at this time, and waved his hand when he heard the words, "Go back and think about your mistakes, and if you don't understand, you are not allowed to leave the house."

My son is almost twenty, and his mind is still muddled... This is the result of a year of good parenting.

Xue Huan was completely discouraged by his son, and made up his mind to simply choose a daughter-in-law with a lower family background and let his son marry.He gave birth to a grandson early, and he held him in front of him and taught him carefully—as for the son, the family did not miss a morsel of food, but it was his turn to decide what the family said.

How did Xue Pan know that his father had completely abandoned him, and he was thankful that his father had a lot of things to do today, so he didn't get angry: it's better to stay behind closed doors than to be beaten.

Looking at his son's back and leaving the door, Xue Huan said calmly to his wife and daughter, "There is nothing to hide in front of you. I am a seventh-rank county magistrate. It is hard to get, and it is thanks to Master Lin's help. But with the official status , Baochai will be able to win the local general election smoothly, instead of having to serve the nobles for a few years after entering the palace, before they have a chance to stand out."

Baochai nodded, "Father is all for me."

Xue Huan smiled slightly, "Father is also for himself...it's meaningless to say this. It's convenient to surrender to the nobleman and send a girl there. Your uncle is a second-rank official in the frontier, but he doesn't have a girl under his knees. I have no choice but to move my niece's mind."

Aunt Xue felt terrified when she heard these words: In the past, the master was only dissatisfied with his natal brother, but he has never said it so bluntly like today!

Thinking of this, her face turned paler, and she didn't feel any effort in holding her daughter's hand.

Baochai glanced at her mother and noticed that her eyes were dull, so she turned her head and asked her father, "Where's Big Sister Yuanchun from Rongfu?"

Xue Huan continued: "Your cousin is in Concubine De's palace, and her marriage needs to be approved by Concubine De."

However, there is only one prostitute daughter in the second room of the Rong Mansion. This girl can't make up her mind, so the uncle can only come to plot against his Baochai.

After thinking for a while, he added, "Your eldest uncle is a second-rank official, and he probably recommended you. Otherwise, father, I didn't report, how could your name be on the waiting list."

Baochai is silent.

Xue Huan said again: "I just don't know who your big uncle plans to send you to. Although the official rank crushes people to death, I can't do nothing and silently agree to this matter."

He doesn't dislike being used, nor does he dislike calculating, after all, he can't live without these means.You can use me to plot against me, at least let me know in advance!

Thinking of this, Xue Huan couldn't help sighing, "Time is fate."

Baochai stopped crying, raised her head and said firmly, "Daughter knows."

Xue Huan patted his daughter on the shoulder, "It's not like the end of the world, but my father is still here."

Baochai took her father's arm and nodded slowly.

And Aunt Xue felt sad, holding Baochai and crying bitterly.Aunt Xue was sad because her daughter couldn't help herself. Of course, what was even more sad... She knew that the master and her natal family would probably... part ways from now on.

I don't know if my elder brother and sister are still complacent about this, waiting for me to thank them a thousand times?She was determined to stay away from her natal family... After making the decision, she suddenly felt a lot lighter all over her body.

That night, except for Xue Pan, Xue's couple and Baochai didn't sleep well.

Three days later, it was Xue Huanxiumu who specially brought his wife and daughter to Hangzhou to visit Lin Hai—except for "Ming Gong", he had no one to ask and no one to ask for for the time being.

In the study outside the Lin Mansion, facing Xue Huan, Lin Hai couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "I also felt strange when I saw your daughter's name on the list. But Mr. Wang's move... With all due respect, the previous dynasty also had this old practice. "

To be honest, Wang Ziteng does not have a concubine daughter, but Wang's family has no shortage of concubine daughters, and there are also concubine daughters in the side branches... Wang Ziteng did not choose the girl of the Wang family. In his heart, it was a reward for his brother-in-law's support for many years, but he did not expect this. "Return" offended Xue Huan to the fullest.

Surprised and angry that day, Xue Huan was filled with resentment towards his brother-in-law. After three days, he has calmed down a lot, and he also figured out that his brother-in-law probably thought this move was for support, and he should be grateful.

In fact, Xue Huan's resentment towards Wang Ziteng did not disappear much, but instead he had another feeling: If the brother-in-law always behaved in such a domineering manner, I am afraid that this "good life" will not last long.

It should be a good thing for a relative to gain power, Xue Huan sneered secretly: as long as he doesn't think about implicating us when he is unlucky.

Xue Huan didn't deliberately restrain his emotions in front of Lin Hai... After all, it was Ming Gong who gave him the official position.

This change of expression caught Lin Hai's eyes, and he understood that Xue Huan hated Wang Ziteng.

Lin Hai felt that he hated him very well, "Unless Ling Ai is made to keep his filial piety, it will be difficult to get this name..." In fact, he can use tricks to ruin his reputation in exchange for not being selected this time, but Xue Huan will definitely not choose this Just one.

Xue Huan sighed again when he heard the words.

Lin Hai said again: "As far as I know, Mr. Wang voted for the crown prince. Because of the incident in Taixing a few days ago, the crown prince is quite dissatisfied with the Sun family."

The crown prince was slightly estranged from his mother clan, and Wang Ziteng rushed to join him when he saw the opportunity. Lin Hai admired the timing alone: ​​But since you have such abilities, Mr. Wang, why can't you calm down and look at it coldly for a few more years? Woolen cloth?

Although the Holy Majesty is over fifty years old, he is still in his prime.

Xue Huan immediately said after hearing the words: "Could it be that he intends to..." He almost slipped his words under the excitement, and he quickly changed his words, "Want to send my daughter to the East Palace?"

Xue Huan is not optimistic about the prince: the reason is extremely simple, without his biological mother, few of the older princes will be able to become a great treasure.

The prince is so beautiful, and the princess is always magnanimous. If the prince wants to, it is not difficult to enter the East Palace as a concubine.

Leaving aside the conduct of the rest of the princes, it is only said that most of them are taken care of by their biological mothers, and it is very difficult to get into the eyes of these empresses who have lived in the palace for half their lives.

Seeing Xue Huan's gloomy face, Lin Hai reminded him, "Since you have the heart, why don't you put more thought into the other places? If the Holy Majesty can bestow a marriage, it will be a glorious and joyous event."

This sentence is tantamount to a slap in the face!

Xue Huan hopes that his daughter can take care of her natal family after she gets married, so why keep her eyes on the princes?

Every year after the general election, a large number of girls are pointed out to the clan, or the first-class family and the honorable family who still hold real power.

If you can pass the hurdles of the general election, get the favor of the nobles, and have the chance to be married by the Holy One...

Xue Huan blurted out, "What does Duke Ming think of King Beijing?"

King Beijing Jing has been keeping a low profile all these years, so as not to lose his title inexplicably.There is really no comparison between such a quiet and inactive prince and the smug princes.

Lin Haisui replied: "Yes, yes, have you thought about it?"

The King of Beijing Jing just has a good name, and I'm afraid he can't count on real power.Xue Huan lowered his head slightly again, "Let me think about it again."

But it was a coincidence that Aunt Xue and Baochai came that day, because Miaoyu was also there.

Jia Min and Aunt Xue wanted to talk, so they sent the three girls back to Daiyu's yard.

Baochai's complexion was not good, Miaoyu and Daiyu exchanged glances, Miaoyu was the first to ask, "Is there something on your mind?"

Unable to control herself, Baochai tossed and turned, and it was inevitable that she was mentally ill at the moment.Miaoyu asked the question, but she didn't even think about it, "There are so many things on my mind that I can't sleep." As soon as she said this, she regretted her slip of the tongue. After thinking about it, she said it all, and she simply said, "What can I do? Uncle didn't tell me Parents, they will send me to the palace next year to be selected."

The two little sisters really can't help with this matter, even Lin Hai and Jia Min... are not helpless, but they don't want to intervene, so as not to get dirty: entering the palace is the long-cherished wish of Xue Huanbaochai's father and daughter for many years.

But Aunt Xue and Baochai complained in front of their sisters, and shed a few more tears, but their mood improved a lot after leaving Lin's residence.And Xue Huan got an idea from Lin Hai, and he became more energetic.

After sending the family away, Daiyu continued to talk to Miaoyu about herself.

Lin Hai went straight back to the inner house, concerned about his wife who was pregnant with Liujia, "How is it? Are you tired?"

Jia Min thumped her husband backhandedly, "I'm tired of listening to her crying. To put it bluntly, I think it's quite interesting. They feel that Mr. Wang disregards their wishes, and if Mr. Wang knows the relationship between their husband and wife Thoughts, I’m afraid I’m going to scold 'shame your face’?" After a pause, she laughed again, "I’m afraid my second sister-in-law’s help will be missing here. I can guess that second sister-in-law must be secretly gnashing her teeth , 'Since the master can't compare, then my daughter and even my niece will marry better than Daiyu!' Who made the second sister-in-law always so strong."

Lin Hai smiled and said, "It's as if you can see it with your own eyes."

Jia Min said: "How many years have I been unable to get along with my second sister-in-law? She wants to use Baochai in exchange for Yuan Chun's progress, but she doesn't know whether Yuan Chun is happy or not."

In fact, Yuan Chun was really not happy.

In the capital city thousands of miles away from Hangzhou, Yuan Chun knelt down at the feet of Empress De Fei with a plop, "I only want to serve Empress!"

Concubine De stared at Yuan Chun for a long while before responding, "Get up. I'm going back to Concubine Chen."